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Dufour 382 named one of Cruising World’s Boats of the Year

We don’t like to brag but, with the recent announcement of the Dufour 382 winning the Best Midsize Cruiser class in this year’s Boat of the Year judging, we can say that Dufour is definitely on a roll. In fact, since 2009, no other builder has won more “BOTY’s” than we have.

Actually, it’s much better if we let Cruising World’s Senior Editor Herb McCormick describe how Cruising World’s judges decided between 4 boats (Dufour 382, Dufour 350, Hanse 315 and Marlow-Hunter 31) in the Midsize category. And how the 382 came out on top.

“Ultimately,” McCormick writes, “the choice in this category came down to the two Dufours, which were nearly identical in terms of workmanship, styling, deck layout, hardware and other features. Both boats sailed well.

“Of the 382, Murphy said, ‘I quite like this boat. Sailing it was really a lot of fun. The helms felt really good. You had to play the main in order to steer properly, but that was easy to do. So it was a really happy experience sailing this boat. I also liked moving around, especially on deck.’

“But Sherman enjoyed his turn at the helm just as much, if not more, on the smaller 350. The price difference was about $50,000 between the smaller and larger boat. A lively discussion ensued.

“For that extra 50 grand, the 382 offered a traveler and backstay, expanded helm seating, a much larger head and 25 percent more displacement, which translates to more volume and what Murphy described as ‘spatial comfort.’ For buyers, it represents an interesting choice. For our judges, it meant the Dufour 382 was the Best Midsize Cruiser for 2016.”

This year marks the 7th BOTY award Dufour has since 2009 (the year we won two). Previous winners include: